The Passion (novel)
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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"Perhaps all romance is like that; not a contract between equal parties but an explosion of dreams and desires that can find no outlet in everyday life. Only a drama will do and while the fireworks last the sky is a different colour." --The Passion (1987) by Jeanette Winterson |
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The Passion (1987) is a novel by English writer Jeanette Winterson.
Plot
The novel opens with a section narrated by Henri, a young French man who has joined Napoleon's army and become Napoleon's personal chef at one of the camps. After describing the dismal conditions of the soldiers' camp, and the gluttony of Napoleon, we learn more about Henri's backstory as he reflects on his life and the passion that Napoleon had inspired that led him to join the army.
After Henri and his companions participate in the French invasion of Russia, two of them decide to desert, along with one of the vivandieres (prostitutes) that was accompanying the army. The young woman, Villanelle, helps them to gain help from Russian villagers, and they eventually make their way back to Venice, Villanelle's home city.
The novel dives into Villanelle's backstory, revealing that she previously worked in a casino, had fallen in love and had an affair with a married noblewoman, and ended up accepting a deal to marry a violent man who then traded her into prostitution. When her ex-husband attempts to murder her, Henri kills him, and is imprisoned in a stony prison near Venice.
Throughout the novel, Henri's and Villanelle's approaches to passion and love are contrasted. While Henri comes from a small French Catholic village, described as lukewarm, whose hearts were only set on fire by Napoleon, Villanelle's hometown of Venice is described as a people conversant with passion, who play with chance and desire deftly but without real commitment.
See also
